New Team Member
by Rina-chan-14
Summary: Random fanfic. It's rated for violence, blood, and language. It may contain some somewhat mature content in later chapters, but most likely nothing too bad. I also know there has been the idea of having a Decoy class, but I've thought about it as well.
1. Chapter 1

"Why do we need a new team member?" asked the Scout. "We're fine the way we are now!"

"Ask the announcer, not me. I don't think you could get anyone else to do that for you, either," replied the Engineer.  
>The Blu team was getting a new member, and the team members had several different opinions on the situation. The Scout was unhappy about the addition, and so was the Heavy. The Engineer, Demoman, Medic and Sniper didn't particularly care. The Spy wasn't too keen on the idea, just like the Soldier.<p>

The new member was coming by train. The team sent the Scout and the Sniper out to meet him when he arrived. Both of them sat against the wall, waiting for the train to come. It was almost a half-hour before they saw the steam rising in the distance.  
>When the train screeched to a stop, only one person got off, and the two were fairly confused. A young woman, about the age of24, had gotten off the train. She had shoulder-length brown hair with blonde highlights. She had dark green eyes, which stared deeply at them.<p>

"Excuse me, sheila, but I think you might've gotten off at the wrong place," the Sniper told her.

"Is this Team Blu's base?" she asked, looking a bit surprised.

"Don't tell me you're the new team member!" the Scout shouted.

"I am, actually. I'm Alexandria Marilla, but people usually call me Alex."

"Well then, _Alex,_" the Scout sneered, "What do you think you can do that we can't?"

"I guess it's safe to say that I'm pretty much going to fight as a decoy."

"So you're going to run around disguised as one of us and take a few bullets so we can get past?"

"I guess you can put it that way," she said, not the least bit offended. "I'm fine with it, considering no one actually dies here."

"So you already know about all of this?" the Sniper asked.

"Yeah. I read everything they sent me about this."

"You actually read all of those things?" the Scout asked.

"I guess I'm a bit of an overachiever, if you know what I mean."

The three walked back to the base, almost without a word. When they entered the main building, there was a lot of fuss over the new arrival.

"This woman doesn't belong in a war zone!" shouted the Soldier.

"Well, we can see how this turns out, can't we?" asked the Engineer. "She may prove somewhat useful, considering she's supposed to be a decoy."

"Woman can't get past _bullets_!" the Heavy shouted.

"This may prove interesting," the Spy mumbled.

"Calm down, would ya?" the Sniper yelled, "She's joined our team as a decoy, and we can see how well this works out. If it doesn't end up going well, we'll have her sent home. There's no reason to quarrel. Besides," he smiled, "Scout here's taken a liking to her." He elbowed the Scout

"What are you talking about?" he replied, starting to turn red.

"Well, you didn't stop lookin' at 'er the whole walk here."

There were a few chuckles from the other men around them. Alex didn't appear to be paying any attention, but she did blush a bit. She realized this was going to be harder than she thought.


	2. Dinner and Plans

Alex brought her stuff to her room, which seemed fairly empty at the time. The walls were white with no windows and the carpet was a plain, pale tan. There was a single iron bed in the corner opposite the door and a small closet with coat hangers. On one of the coat hangers was a uniform with an odd looking box on it. It was her disguise kit.

It took about half an hour for her to put all of her clothes in the closet and set out everything she'd brought with her. Alex had a notebook, pencils, a few books, and a guitar stand. She played acoustic guitar since she was thirteen, and she couldn't think of parting with her music. Although she couldn't take her acoustic guitar on the train with her, it was being shipped to the base.

Luckily, Alex had arrived during the seize-fire, so she had a small amount of time to get her things set. She would have to fight the next day, though. Still, she wasn't nervous. She knew that she'd just have to draw the enemies' attention long enough for the others to get by, and try to take out as many as possible. She also knew that there was no reason to be afraid of death. If you were killed, you'd just get respawned again.

When evening fell, she left her room to get something for dinner. Most of the others were already in the dining room, including the Scout. Alex tried not to look at him as she walked past him to get something to eat. She had noticed him staring at her when she arrived earlier.

"Well, there she is, mate," the Sniper said to the Scout, "Are you going to say anything to her?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"C'mon, kid, I know I saw you staring at her the second she stepped off the train."

"Everyone was like that when they saw her. It's the first time any of us have seen a woman since we got here. It's been a while."

"The only reason we were staring at her," the Demoman interrupted, "is because we were surprised that a woman ended up here to fight. I myself can't say I'm attracted to her, and from the reactions of the others, I'd say they aren't either."

"Anyway, you weren't looking at her the way everyone else was. If you're interested in her, you shouldn't get so uptight or defensive about it," the Sniper told him.

Alex returned moments later and sat down a few seats away from the Sniper, who was next to the Scout. She knew that they were the ones that had greeted her earlier.

"So, what do ya think of this place so far, sheila?" the Sniper asked.

"Well, I've stayed in worse places. It's not anything that bad, really," she replied. "Also, I never really caught your name."

"My name?" he repeated. "Well, my name's not really that important. The most people here are just known by their job."

"Then what is your job?"

"I'm a sniper, so…"

"Well then, Sniper, I guess it'll be easy to remember what to call everyone."

"Yeah, but they're not really the friendliest bunch, so don't get your hopes up."

"Don't worry," Alex smiled. "I'm used to it. I'm the one that was always made fun of. I think I can take any sort of verbal abuse."

"Okay then," he responded. A few minutes later, the Sniper went back to his room for the night, and the Demoman decided to get acquainted with the new girl.

"So, has everything gone well so far?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm just a little anxious about this whole thing."

"Well, there's no reason to worry. Anyway, I'm the team's Demoman," he said.

"What about everyone else? It'd be a bit helpful to know who I should stay away from."

"Well, that man over there," he pointed, "is the Engineer. He usually stays back in our basement in 2Fort, but he can build some pretty big guns. You can rely on him, but you won't see him that often. The Heavy over there is someone to stay away from, though. He's not the nicest one here."

"Well, is there anyone that I should stick with for 2Fort? Considering I'm going to fight in it for a while now, I think it may be easier."

"You may want to stay near the Medic for the first while, but you'll still need to do some fighting with him. The Pyro, however, can defend himself well enough. You could stick with him and you'd be pretty safe. If you're fast enough, it may be best to stay with the Scout, though. You could easily pass as him and draw away attention so he could get the enemy intelligence. The Scout is sitting right there, so you may want to ask him about that," he pointed over to the Scout and left the room.

Since the Scout had heard the conversation, he decided to talk to Alex. He stood up and sat down next to her. He was starting to get nervous.

"So…do you think you'd want to stick around with me tomorrow? I mean…for the fight, that is…" he stuttered.

"I guess. It's either you or the Pyro, really, and I'd prefer someone who can actually talk. Besides, I wouldn't need to disguise myself as a Medic, so I couldn't test out my disguise kit."

"You mean you can't be a decoy for every class?" he asked.

"Well, it's not like the Spy. I can change into a Pyro, Scout, Medic, Sniper, and Soldier. When you think about it, it does make sense. First of all, a Heavy doesn't need to slip past anyone unnoticed. A Heavy comes in and blasts everyone with bullets. A Demoman would lure the others over into a trap and blow 'em up, and an Engineer usually stays by a dispenser or sentry gun."

"That, and it'd be more believable if you were disguised as someone that's built like you. You're pretty thin, so you couldn't pass as a Heavy or Demoman, and you're too tall to be an Engineer. Although the Sniper is a little taller than you, and so is the Medic. But anyway, I'll try to run slow so you can keep up with me tomorrow. Not to brag, but I'm the fastest one on the team, so I'm a little hard to follow." He got up and started walking back to his room.

"I'm guessing you don't tell people your name, either, do you?" she asked.

He was about to answer, but soon got distracted. She was looking straight at him, her green eyes staring directly into his.

"Well, I—um…I guess…" he calmed down and looked away from her. "Well, you can just call me Scout." He walked back to his room, and Alex soon returned to hers. She was beginning to think about what had happened before. She remembered what the Sniper said about Scout staring at her. Alex was starting to wonder if he had developed some sort of crush on her, and she was even starting to like the idea…


	3. And It Begins

The next morning, Alex got up earlier than everyone else. She knew it was still dark out, but that didn't really matter. She was too anxious to go back to sleep.

Once she was awake, Alex put on her uniform. She had a short-sleeved shirt in the usual shade of blue, as well as a pair of black pants. She also had some black gloves and tennis shoes. She pulled her hair back into a short ponytail before going to get something for breakfast.

No one else had left their rooms yet, so it seemed very quiet at first. However, the silence didn't last long. The Soldier was the first person that Alex saw that morning. He barely looked at her and said nothing, although she didn't mind. He didn't seem like a very nice guy, and she thought he was a bit too loud.

It wasn't long before everyone else arrived. Alex tried not to talk much at first, not wanting anyone to think she was being to forward. However, she couldn't stay silent for too long. The Engineer eventually sat next to her and started a conversation.

"I don't think any of us expected to see a woman in a war zone," he told her.

"I can tell. I can see why it's kind of surprising, but I don't know why some of those guys are making such a huge deal about it."

"Well, they haven't seen a woman in ages. They're all just surprised that the first one they saw after so long was going to fight by them."

"I guess."

"Anyway, where are you from? I can recognize a bit of a southern accent, if I'm correct."

"You are correct," Alex told him. "I came here from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, but I lived in Arkansas when I was a kid, and my dad's from Texas. I'm guessing that's where you're from, judging by the accent."

"Yeah, that's a bit obvious."

"So you're already up?" asked the Scout, sitting in the chair to the right of Alex.

"Yeah. I woke up a bit early," she said.

"You're probably just nervous. When you're out there fighting later, it'll be way easier. Plus, with the respawn, there's nothing to really worry about. It's almost like a game. Besides, you're sticking by me, so I'll make sure you're okay."

"Good luck with that," the Engineer mumbled.

Before the Scout could start an argument, the announcer interrupted. "Mission begins in thirty minutes!" the voice shouted.

"Half an hour?" Alex stammered, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"Yep. There's an announcement about this somewhat frequently," the Scout told her. "There's one for twenty minutes, fifteen, ten, five, two and one. Then it goes down to thirty seconds, then to ten, and then a countdown from five."

"Well, I'll be right back. I should probably grab a few things…" Alex said, getting up.

"Like what?" he asked.

"My gun and knife." She went ahead back to her room to pick up her weapons, and was back within a few minutes.

"Hey, your knife is a lot like the Spy's,' the Scout noticed when she returned.

"Yeah, it is, actually. But mine flips open with a button on the side of it."

The Scout took the knife in his hand and looked at it. However, he did end up cutting himself with it a bit when it popped open. He couldn't figure out why.

"It's customized and, more specifically, it's left-handed. Try it in the other hand, and you'll get better results," she smirked.

"Mission begins in twenty minutes!" the voice said. It startled Alex a bit, causing her to drop her knife.

"Calm down, Alex," he laughed. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he assured her, retrieving the knife and handing it back to the girl.

"You know," she mentioned, "it's a little weird. The other team doesn't have a decoy. They were supposed to, but she took a different job."

"What?"

"She was supposed to be a decoy for the Red team in 2Fort, but decided against it. She's on Blu team in the Dustbowl."

"How do you know all of this?" the Scout asked her.

"Well, I saw her on the train, and she told me about all of it." Alex looked away at first, but a sad expression was still visible on her face. Scout put a hand on her shoulder, as if to ask if she was alright. She looked back at him and a small smile came to her face.

"Don't worry about me," Alex told him.

"Mission begins in fifteen minutes!" the voice shouted, startling Alex yet again.

"Crap! This is going to take some getting used to!" she shouted, earning herself a few stares from the others. She hunched down in her seat a little bit, trying to get everyone's eyes off of her.

"You really don't like it when people stare at you," the Scout commented.

"Well, I don't like it when everyone is staring at me all at once. I hate it." The two of them were silent, and soon enough the announcer said that there were only two minutes left.

Everyone headed to the main starting area and got ready to fight. The other team members seemed pretty excited, but Alex was still nervous.

"Hey," the Scout noticed Alex's nervous expression, "I told you not to worry. Just stay with me and start off as fast as you can."

"Mission begins in ten seconds!" the voice shouted. "Five, four, three, two, one!" The second the sirens went off, Alex shot out the door. The Scout said to go as fast as she could, so she did. He had to run almost as fast as he could to catch up with her.

"What was that?" he asked her jokingly.

"I was on my school's track team for all of middle school and high school," she smiled.

Once they'd gotten out into the sun, there was only one enemy out there, and it was the Red Scout. Once she saw him, Alex took out her pistol. When he got in range, the Red Scout started shooting at them with his scattergun. Alex stopped running and started shooting back. The Blu Scout, however, kept running and eventually started hitting the enemy with his bat. He took no damage because the enemy's attention was focused mainly on Alex.

"I guess having a decoy can be useful," he smiled.


	4. Decoy

_**Some quotes are directly from the game.**_

"Come on, Alex," the Scout shouted to her. Alex caught up with the scout again and they hurried into the base.

"Wait a second," she said, stopping before they were fully inside. "Isn't this a bit strange?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Wouldn't someone from the other team be here right now?" she asked. "I know you're usually ahead of everyone, being the fastest, but you're going slower because of me, and we stopped to get that other scout. Stay here for a second," she told him, getting out her disguise kit. Once she used it, the scout was a bit confused.

"So you don't fully transform with that thing?" he asked.

"Like I said, it's different from the Spy's kit. Both teams see me the same way, so there are still a few differences in appearance so our team can tell us apart, yet in the short time that the other team could get a close look at me, they won't be able to tell the difference."

Alex walked into the opposing team's base and looked literally everywhere; in corners, down hallways, and so on. She was being pretty paranoid, but it was probably worth the time. Soon, she walked into the trap. The enemy Pyro was hiding above her, and came down moments after she passed below him. After a small amount of being burnt, she'd fallen. Of course, the Scout noticed this.

He ran in with his scattergun and began shooting. The Pyro turned around and started attacking him, knowing already that he'd been fighting a Decoy before. The scattergun wasn't much compared to the flamethrower, although it was enough. As soon as the Pyro was distracted, Alex scrambled to her feet and pulled out her knife. She was able to stab him in the back, similar to the way a Spy would.

"I'm not even going to try to count the ways you're similar to the Spy. It's a little creepy," he said.

"Well, my strategy works. Besides, even you were convinced that I was killed," she smiled. "Anyway, paranoia is my thing, so I'm usually pretty cautious about planning and whatnot."

"You really should've warned me about that, though."

"Well, you know about that now. I can take more damage than you, so if I'm disguised as you, I can fake death and attack when their backs are turned," Alex told him. "But I'm still pretty beat up after that, and I don't think the Medic is going to be over here any time soon."

"You should go back then," he said.

"Don't worry. What's the worst that could happen? If I get killed, I'll just get respawned. There's nothing to really be afraid of." She spoke a little too soon. As the two turned the corner, they realized getting through would be harder than they thought.

"There's a sentry gun in there," the Scout said, hearing the faint beeping in the open area.

"Well, it'll take me a minute to think of a plan to get past that… although you'd probably have to wait up for me afterwards. We can't both make it through."

"Or," said a voice behind them, "you could let me handle it." It was the Spy, of course. "The Red Engineer is probably up there with his little toy, so it would be nice to have a bit of backup, if you wouldn't mind," he mentioned, his accent making him sound a bit more intimidating than Alex expected.

"Okay," she responded. "How **exactly** are we going to do this?"

"I'll go and put a sapper on the gun," the Spy said, "and then you two will need to come out and start shooting it, or the Engineer. I'll try to get him, but it'll be the end of all of us if he fixes the sentry, so try to destroy it."

"Alright," she sighed, still a bit nervous about the plan.

Moments later, the Spy cloaked himself and headed toward the sentry gun. It wasn't too long before the gun's power was draining, and shots were being fired. The Engineer, however, was killed seconds before his sentry gun was destroyed.

"Ha!" the Scout shouted, "Broke your stupid crap, moron!"

"You have no respect for other people, do you?" Alex asked, emotionlessly.

"No, he doesn't," the Spy replied for him.

_"The enemy has taken our intelligence!"_ the announcer shouted.

"Shit," Alex said, "come on, let's get their intelligence and get out of here."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," the Scout said, grabbing her hand and running down the stairway towards Team Red's intelligence.

"You couldn't have given me a warning?" Alex shouted, trying to regain her balance.

"Well, hey, we're stickin' together for the mission, and we're in a hurry, aren't we? Besides, you didn't warn me earlier." Alex didn't respond. They ran into the large, open room. In the back corner, there was a small metal desk; on top of it was the briefcase. The Scout grabbed it, and they heard the usual announcement, although they heard also something else.

"The intelligence?" a voice yelled. It was the Red Soldier. He started coming down one of the hallways towards them, although he hadn't seen them. They hurried back out through the other hallway.

"Keep going," Alex whispered, "I'll lure him away."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Absolutely. It's not like I can take much more of this before I get picked off." Alex stopped running and turned around. She ran back towards the hallways where the soldier was. She started yelling and shooting at him, and just making a hell of a racket. The second the Soldier noticed, he greeted her with a shot from his rocket launcher, which she was easily able to avoid at the other end of the hall. Once he was out of the hallway, he was able to follow Alex a bit farther away from the intelligence room, where she was quickly finished off by a rocket that actually hit several feet beside her.

However, because of the respawn, she knew perfectly well what was happening around her. The Soldier walked over to where she was, and soon realized his error.

"Damn," he shouted as usual, "It was just the Decoy." He turned and headed up the stairs, back into the base.

When Alex was respawned back at her base, she came out up on the second floor, where the Sniper was aiming at the enemy just across the way. She walked out into the open a bit, but he'd already noticed her.

"Have you lost you're mind, sheila?" he asked, quickly shoving her back behind a metal wall, then aiming quicker than she thought possible. "If you stand out in the open up here like that, you're going to get sniped," he took a shot, "like that."

Alex was speechless. "Go on, find the others. That's what you were going to do, wasn't it?" Alex nodded and hurried across and back into the base.

_"The enemy has dropped our intelligence,"_ the voice announced. Alex was relieved, but she still hurried. She ran down onto the first floor and then out of the base, where she was greeted by the other team's Demoman. She pulled out her gun and began shooting, about to run towards the Red Team's base. Then, she saw the Scout, waiting up where the enemy Sniper was a few moments before. He was pointing back above Alex. She knew what he was trying to tell her, seeing a small, blue light moving around by the Demoman, who wouldn't stay still.

She had to get him to stop moving so the Sniper could get him, but she had a better idea when she heard a few other members from her team. Alex ran back inside, and the Demoman stayed put. He was aiming bombs up at the Sniper, who was forced back inside. That was her chance. She pulled out her disguise kit and changed into the Sniper.

Alex could hear her team coming out towards the Demoman, so she waited for them to pass by. The Medic, the Heavy, the Pyro and the Soldier all ran past her, into what she knew was a trap. Alex didn't tell them, though. It's not like it mattered, since they'd be respawned, and she wanted to stick to her plan. She followed close behind them, just close enough to be injured in the blast. Of course, she wasn't close enough to the bombs when they went off to be killed, although she was close enough to fake it without anyone knowing.

The Demoman stood over the others, looking away from Alex. "They're goin' to have to glue you back together," he shouted, "IN HELL!" Suddenly, he noticed the mistake he'd made, but it was too late. He'd been stabbed in the back of the head.

"Funny," Alex said, changing back into herself, "I thought we were already there." She picked up her knife.

"Nice one!" the Scout shouted as he ran past, grabbing her hand. They ran back inside, but soon realized that the Demoman was playing as a Decoy. While he kept the team busy, the Red Engineer went through the sewers and built up a sentry gun in the Blu Team's base…


	5. Improvise

Alex and the Scout ran back into the Blu Team's base without even thinking. They passed through the doorway, but when the got around the corner, shots were fired. There was a Red sentry gun built in the center of the hallway. The two hurried back around the corner, avoiding any more damage. The Red Engineer chuckled as he watched them run, defenseless. They couldn't just try to attack it, since the Engineer was still beside it. He'd also built a dispenser, so he was stuck in between them—shielded by them.

Once they were around the corner, there was a noise—almost like static. It was coming from the gun. Alex peeked around the corner and saw what it was. The Spy had put a sapper on the sentry. However, the Engineer was able to destroy the sapper. She pulled her head back in before the gun could hit her. The Spy appeared next to them.

"This doesn't seem like it'll work," he whispered. "It would be better if I could keep sapping it, since the Engineer would eventually run out of metal. But he has the dispenser…"

"And you can't get the Engineer," the Scout pointed out, "because he's boxed in."

"I have an idea," Alex told them.

"It better be a good one, since it's all we've got," the Spy remarked, sneering. Alex thought to protest, but the Scout beat her to it.

"Her plans have worked so far, and I'm willing to trust that this one could, too."

"Well," she began, "if you think about it, the sentry gun would be the main target. However, since the Engineer is there, he can keep it up and running. The reason he can stay there is because of the dispenser. We should take that out first."

"How do you suggest we do that?" asked the Frenchman.

"Simple," Alex smiled. "You put a sapper on both the dispenser and the sentry gun. I thought you'd have tried that by now. He can't save them both. Besides, if that doesn't take out the dispenser, it'll take out the gun. Just make sure the Engineer doesn't hit you with anything, or you're going to get taken out within a few seconds."

"I guess it's worth a try," he sighed. The Spy cloaked and walked back over towards the Engineer and his gun. He placed a sapper on the sentry, and put one on the dispenser right after. The others started shooting, trying to destroy it quicker. The Engineer stayed by his gun, which was easily fixed. The dispenser, however, was gone. There was one flaw in the plan, though: Alex hadn't taken the time of the Spy's cloak into account. It wore off as he was running back, and the sentry quickly shot him down.

"Great," Alex sighed, "Just great. Not only did my plan result in death, but it was the death of someone who already hated me."

"The dispenser is gone. The plan still worked," the Scout told her.

"Yeah, but I forgot one factor that affected it. That changed the current outcome, and that could cause this to be completely different. That one detail could kill us. We could be fucked just because of that."

"Calm down," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "It's fine. There's nothing to worry about."

_"The intelligence has returned to our base,"_ the announcer said.

"We need to try to take out that gun," Alex said. She pulled out her gun and got ready to aim, but soon realized that it wasn't necessary. The Blu Heavy was coming up the stairs, out of the sewer. He was followed by a Medic. They'd noticed the gun before, and managed to come up with a plan to take it out.

"I am charged!" the Medic shouted. The Heavy stepped out into the hallway and the Medic deployed the Uber-charge. The sentry was destroyed with just a second to spare. But even without the Uber-charge, the Engineer wasn't very hard for the Heavy to kill.

Once the loud gunfire stopped, Alex and the Scout hurried over to where they were.

"Good timing, guys," the Scout said. "Hey, Doc, if you don't mind, we could use a bit of healing here."

"Is it _really_ that bad?" the Medic asked.

"No," Alex replied.

"_Yes,_" the Scout insisted.

"Well, considering you're never going to shut up if I don't heal you, I guess I'll help." The Medic took the Medigun off of the Heavy and focused it on the Scout, healing him fully in seconds.

"What about you?" the Medic asked.

"Don't worry about me. It's really not necessary," Alex told him.

"Yeah, it _is,_" the Scout said, pushing her forward. In the end, both of them did get healed, and they soon set off toward the basement.

Once they reached the Intel Room, the Scout set the briefcase on the desk, and they heard an announcement.

"_Success. We have secured the enemy intelligence."_

"See? Just two more captures and the practice round will be over."

"Hopefully," Alex said, "the other two won't be exactly the same as this one. Also, you're kidding about the 'practice round' part, right?"

"Nope," the Scout said. "There's one practice round in the morning, then the real one starts at three in the afternoon."

"Great."


	6. Ending the Practice Round

"Shit! This better work!" Alex muttered to herself, sprinting away from the Red Heavy. He'd been standing in the hallway by the courtyard in the Red Base, and it would've been impossible to get past him unnoticed. So, she did what any sane person would do: Alex ran into the hallway disguised as the Scout and lured him back away from the area. Okay, that's not what any _sane_ person would do, but it was her job, which did, in several ways, lack sanity.

The Heavy, of course, fired up his minigun and started shooting. He'd stop when Alex was out of view, and continue after her. After she circled around, Alex ran up to the second floor and down the stairs toward the Intelligence Room.

_"We have taken the enemy intelligence,"_ the announcer said. The Scout ran out, carrying the intelligence, and grabbed her hand. He pulled her back up the stairs and into the courtyard. The Heavy was guarding by the front entrance. They could tell because they heard his minigun spinning.

"Let's just go out on the second floor, where the Snipers always stand," Alex suggested.

"One problem with that," the Scout replied.

"What?"

"That's where the Snipers always stand."

"Don't be such a wimp," she smiled, pulling him back up the stairs.

Sure enough, the Red Sniper was standing up there, aiming for the Blu Sniper. He hadn't noticed them. When he'd lined up a perfect headshot, Alex took out her knife and stabbed his left arm, panicking a bit too much to think beforehand. The Sniper quickly put down his rifle and grabbed his kukri. Alex jumped back a bit, knowing she was pretty much defenseless by that point.

The Sniper smirked when he saw her scared expression, but it didn't last long. There was a loud gunshot, and the Red Sniper fell. The two looked across to their base, and sure enough, the Blu Sniper stood, waving over at them.

"Come on!" Alex shouted.

"Wait," he told her, "Can you make the jump to the roof on the bridge?"

"No. But you can, so try to make both of the jumps. It'll save some time. If you make it, I can wait down there."

"Okay then." Both of them jumped from the second story of the Red Base. The Scout's double jump allowed him across onto the bridge's roof. Alex fell, of course.

The Scout managed to jump across to the second floor of the base, and ran inside. However, the Red Heavy wasn't as easy to fool as Alex had thought. He soon left the base and found Alex again.

_"Success. We have secured the enemy intelligence."_

She pulled out her gun and started shooting, as well as running. Then, she got an idea. Alex looked up, and the Sniper was still there. He was waiting for the Heavy to get further away from the roof of the bridge. He couldn't get sniped at his current position. Alex would've preferred to lure the Heavy over towards the Blu base, since it was far less dangerous. Sadly, she knew that wasn't the better plan.

Alex scrambled left and right, avoiding as many bullets as she could. It was harder to do on the bridge, but she managed to live long enough to get across. However, once she was in clear sight of the Sniper, she'd taken all of the damage she could. It wasn't a complete waste, though. The Heavy walked over to where she lay, and picked up the extra bullets she had left in her gun. He wasn't paying enough attention to notice the Blu Sniper aiming at him. There was a loud gunshot, and then nothing. The Heavy fell the second he was hit. It was a perfect headshot.

Alex respawned in the main locker room where she started.

_"The enemy has taken our intelligence,"_ the announcer said, sounding alarmed. The emotion in her voice was almost believable.

"Nice… let me guess, the Red Scout?" Alex told herself. She ran outside and jumped down from the second floor, injuring herself a bit. Right after she hit the ground, she saw him. The Red Scout, as she'd predicted, had taken the intelligence. He ran through the left doorway. He was inured, presumably by the Blu Soldier that came out soon after. The Soldier continued shooting rockets, and Alex jumped to her feet and began to chase after the Scout. When he got inside the Red Base, he was sure he'd gotten away from the Soldier, and he knew that a Decoy wasn't really much to worry about. That time, he was wrong.

Alex started shooting at him, not missing once. Of course, that wasn't too hard, considering the enemy Scout was only about eight feet in front of her. Soon, they arrived in the courtyard. One of the locker rooms wasn't far, and the Scout would be able to heal. However, Alex shot a few more times, and her final one was a headshot. She wasn't really aiming, so it was surprising to see her target fall.

_"The enemy has dropped our intelligence."_

"This is not good!" Alex thought. She knew the intelligence would return back to the basement on its own, but protecting it long enough was another story.

_"We have taken the enemy intelligence."_

"And more attention is drawn to the area…" Alex stood in the middle of the courtyard. She was able to see anything coming toward her. For a moment, there was nothing. No one came near from either team. The Blu Scout ran past with the intelligence, but she told him to keep going. She was going to make sure no one would take it. Like her plan before, she decided that even the smallest flaw would mess it up—like if the Scout ended up getting killed and the Blu intelligence got taken.

Once the Scout passed by, another member from the team came. The Pyro walked into the courtyard. Alex thought it seemed a bit odd. He wasn't doing anything, but he couldn't have been out of ammo. He was completely unscathed. Also, he came right up to her. She didn't expect him to do anything like that, especially with the fact that she thought he, like most of the others, didn't like her.

Another thing that wasn't normal was that he didn't say a thing. Sure, you can't understand the majority of what he's saying anyway, but the Pyro isn't exactly a really quiet guy—that is, unless he's getting ready to ambush someone. That wasn't possible, though, because no one was coming. It almost seemed like they were the only two in the base.

Then Alex realized what was going on.

"Good. I'm not alone defending this thing anymore," she said. She walked toward the Pyro, not letting her guard down. She didn't expect him to move so quickly. When Alex stood right next to him, he slid behind her. She reacted quickly, pulling her knife out and spinning around to face the other. There was a loud scrape, metal on metal, which could be heard even in the Blu Base. Alex looked forward, right at the Red Spy. His disguise was gone, and he was attempting to backstab her.

She'd pulled out her knife quick enough, so Alex had just been able to block his attack. Her heart was beating faster and faster, like it was going to pop out of her chest any second. She knew that the Spy could beat her easily in that situation. All he would have to do is cloak, and he could get her easily.

Of course, that's what he did. The Spy, with his knife still held against Alex's, started cloaking. Out of fear, she pushed her weapon off of the Spy's and thrust it forward. The cloak instantly wore off as the body fell to the ground.

"Not exactly what I expected," she said. "But it works all the same, doesn't it?"

_"Our intelligence has returned to our base," _said the announcer. Alex started running back to the base, but seconds later, there was another announcement.

"_Victory."_

Alex headed back to the starting locker room. From there, everyone left the 2Fort Base.

"Well, sheila," the Sniper began when Alex caught up with the others, "Anything interesting? You were the only one out of our team's base when the Scout made the final capture." Of course, everyone was cheering him on because of his accomplishment.

"Well, not really. I defended the intelligence from one enemy, and that was the Red Spy."

"That makes it a bit interesting to me."

"You hate that guy, don't you?" she asked.

"Completely. I'm hoping you stabbed him."

"Yeah."

"Someone beat him at his own game, and it wasn't even another Spy."

"Well, it's not like I did it stealthily or anything. We pretty much had our knives at each other's throats. I just killed him while he started cloaking. It was out of fear, to tell you the truth."

"Are you enjoying this so far?" the Sniper asked.

"Actually, I am," she smiled.

"Well then, I can guarantee a few more kills like that, and not out of fear, that's for sure."


	7. Not By Choice

There was a three hour break between the practice round and the real one. Once everyone came back from the practice round, they'd all have lunch. That was one of the few times during the day that anyone could do pretty much whatever. Socialize (somewhat unlikely), daydream (more likely), contemplate life (extremely unlikely), and so on.

Alex was one of the first to sit down to eat, and she decided to sit in the same place she'd been in earlier. She had a couple of questions, but to ask them, she'd need someone willing to talk to her. Alex decided to just stop wondering about them and think about something else while she ate. She tried to think about how to spend her free time, but it didn't last long. Luckily, by then, there was someone she could talk to. The Scout, of course, had taken the seat next to her.

"So, you enjoying your position so far?" he asked.

"I guess."

"What do you mean? You're doing just fine, and I think you're going to like it here," he smiled.

"Well, it could be worse, and it is only my first day here. I can't say my occupation will get me many new friends, but it's better than any boring job… or that's at least what I tell myself."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't really want to explain it right now… eventually I'll get around to it, though," Alex told him, emotionlessly. Her heart felt heavy in her chest when she thought of how she somehow became a mercenary, although it was all too easy to explain. She just didn't want to mention it too much, or else it'd come back to bite her. That's how everything worked.

With Alex, anything that she noticed and found lucky always ended up being unlucky. If she mentioned something she didn't want to happen, it'd all go down a week later or even, on really bad days, about half an hour later. This occurred often when she was younger. It was like that with moving, people and pets dying, her parents' divorce, and a lot of other things. She didn't want to mess anything up.

"Anyway," she started, perking up a bit, "I have a few questions about all of this. There are a few things that I didn't get information on. If you don't mind my asking, that is," she stopped eating for a moment.

"Go ahead," the Scout replied, not seeing it as anything big.

"Well, what's the point of 2Fort?"

"Stealing the enemy intelligence. Duh," he remarked.

"Not exactly what I meant," Alex replied. "Why is it so important for us to win? What do we get?"

"They keep record of each team's wins and losses, and whichever one has the most wins at the end of the month gets a raise. It's the opposite for the one with the most losses."

"So pretty much everyone is in this for the money?"

"Yep."

"That's it?" Alex questioned, somehow surprised.

"Look, sheila, you've got to understand," the Sniper interrupted. He'd sat down on the other side of the Scout during the first conversation. He hadn't said anything until then. "These men aren't the nicest guys around. They don't do something out of the good and kindness of their hearts. They do it for several reasons. Maybe they needed a job, wanted to be in the military and got rejected, like killing people, or enjoy blowing stuff up. If you ask anyone why they're here, at least one reason from each person will involve money."

"Okay… that kind of answers my other question. It was why people usually work as mercenaries here…"

"Anything else?" the Sniper asked, almost seeming satisfied by Alex's reaction.

"Nope…"

Alex finished her meal without saying much else. She walked back to her room, and realized that her idea to pass time wasn't going to work. She had thought about practicing guitar, but realized that it wouldn't exactly work. Her guitar wasn't going to get to the base until the weekend. She couldn't think of anything else to do. After about five minutes, someone started knocking on her door. Obviously, it was the Scout.

"You seemed kind of creeped out by what the Sniper said," he mentioned.

"No, I was just a bit surprised. That's all."

"Also, I think you owe me an answer," he smirked.

"What are you talking about?"

"I answered your question, so you need to answer mine."

"Which is?"

"Why are you here? You said that you keep telling yourself that this is better than some boring job in an office. Why do you have to tell yourself that? Did someone else make you come here?"

"That has to be your question?" she frowned.

"Yes, it does."

"Fine," she sighed. "You may as well come in. This is going to take a bit of time to explain." Alex opened the door wider and the Scout entered. She sat on the bed and sighed.

"I didn't come here by choice, you know," she began. "I never pictured myself in a place like this, and I never wanted to be a mercenary. I grew up expecting to get a normal job and have at least a somewhat normal life. Of course, the thought of it being completely normal vanished when I was eleven. My parents got a divorce. My mother lived in California, and she had custody of my older sister. I lived with my father in Colorado.

"My relationship with my sister just got worse as we got older. We kept arguing about our parents, saying which was better and which deserved full custody of the two of us. Although there really wasn't a reason for the custody thing, we still fought. We fought about who got better grades, who would move out first, and anything else we could think of. It was almost like we were trying to pick a fight with each other."

"I kind of have an idea where this is going…" the Scout interrupted.

"Really?" Alex replied smugly, "I don't think this is too obvious."

"Well… no, it's not. I at least get that this has to do with your sister."

"Yeah, it does," she looked down. "Eventually, when I was fifteen, I had to live with my mother. My father was forced to move to England because of his job, and I was unable to accompany him. That was because we'd been struggling with money since the divorce. When I moved in with my mother, my sister was still living with her, even though she was nineteen. We started getting a bit closer around that time, possibly because there wasn't really anyone else to understand what we'd gone through. However, that didn't last long. Once I started talking about how I missed my father, she got angry. She was completely against my father for some reason, and wouldn't allow me to talk about anything involving him. Soon, we weren't even talking to each other. We'd still argue every once in a while, but that would be the only way we'd pay any attention to each other. I hated it, but our mother hated it more."

Alex was trying to continue her story, but she started choking up. It was hard for her to swallow, and she started to have a bit of trouble breathing. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. The Scout sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, calm down," he said, "It's not happening now. You're telling me the past. It's done with, and you can't change it. Don't think about how bad something is if you can't change it. Save your time for thinking about the future, because you can still make that into something good."

Alex stopped for a second to take in what the Scout had just told her. She pulled her hands up to wipe the tears from her eyes, and did her best to breathe easier.

"Scout," she said, breaking the momentary silence.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she smiled.

"So, what else were you going to say?"

"Well, our mother hated our constant fighting, and decided that she wouldn't have any of it. Some parents threaten their kids to behave by saying they'll send them to military school. My mother didn't exactly do that. She got the two of us jobs here, as mercenaries. She told us nothing. She advised us to pack some of our clothes and any important belongings, and then she brought us to the train station. Then, she told us what we were doing. She handed us any and all letters received about our positions and put us on the train.

"On the way there, I read all of the letters, since there was nothing else to do. After a while, my sister and I started talking. We started getting closer again. Originally, both of us would be Decoys in 2Fort. I'd be on the Blu team; she'd be on the Red team. Not long before we arrived, she decided against fighting me. My sister managed to switch her specific team and joined Blu in Dustbowl. It may not last long, but for now, that's how it is."

"So, you're saying that your mother signed you up for all of this?" the Scout asked when she finished.

"Yes, sadly."

"Let me get this straight… your mother sent you and your sister here to fight each other?" Alex nodded. "Just so she didn't have to deal with you arguing?"

"Exactly," she sighed. There was a brief silence.

"Well, your mother sounds like a nice woman," the Scout remarked sarcastically.


	8. First Day, Final Capture

_Sorry I haven't been posting much, but I've been getting busy since school started. Anyway, thanks for reading, everyone! Especially considering the chapters are really short (and thanks for not mentioning it, even though it's obvious XD). I didn't expect it to get so many views!_

"_Mission begins in five minutes,"_ the announcer said. Everyone was gathered by the door, ready to fight.

After Alex told the Scout about how she ended up in 2Fort, the two went back to the main room, where most of the others were. They were either chatting or just standing there, but the room was completely silent the second Alex stepped into the room. Everyone stared at her for a moment, and she stared back. Soon, she just walked a bit further in and leaned against a wall. They still stared.

"What?" she shouted. She regretted leaving her room already. Everyone simultaneously went back to what they were doing. Alex didn't want to just stand around, but she couldn't think of anything else to talk about with the Scout, and the Sniper obviously wasn't going to stick around in there to talk to the others. Alex could already tell that he wasn't all that social.

However, one thing easily caught her attention. The Engineer was standing in the corner, playing his guitar. It was much better than her guitar, she noted. Hers was pretty simple; it was made of the usual materials, and it had twenty frets—some of which didn't work on the highest string. It wasn't anything special, and her playing wasn't quite perfect yet, either. One factor was her small hands, which made it difficult to play certain riffs or change chords quickly. She actually hadn't met anyone who had smaller hands than hers.

The Engineer's playing varied greatly from hers. He was probably more experienced than she was, and it just seemed easier for him to play. His hands were much bigger than hers—his fingers actually a bit chubby—and he had no trouble moving his hands along the fret board. Alex was surprised to see someone else there that was actually interested in music in any sort of way. She quickly worked up the nerve to go over and talk to him. A few of the others started staring as she crossed the room, making her nervous about the idea. She didn't let it stop her, though.

"What song is that?" she asked him.

"It's not anything really," the Engineer replied, "I'm just improvising for the moment."

"I usually don't improvise much when I play," Alex smiled. "I can't really think anything up, and when I try to, it just starts sounding like something I already know."

"So you play guitar?"

"Yeah. I'm actually having my guitar shipped here right now. It's supposed to be here this weekend."

_"Mission begins in two minutes!"_

"Well then, I'm looking forward to hearing you play," the Engineer said, setting his guitar down and heading for the main gate. Alex, like everyone else, started making her way over there.

_"Mission begins in sixty seconds!"_

The team went to the first spawning point to wait. The Scout hurried past everyone else to get to Alex. They'd decided that sticking together seemed to work pretty well for them, so that would be their strategy. Well, that, and the fact that Alex didn't really know of anyone else to stay around.

"Remember—"

_"Mission begins in thirty seconds!"_

"This is just like the practice round," the Scout said, "except for the fact that this round actually counts a little."

"Okay," she sighed.

"_Mission begins in ten seconds!"_

"Ready, sheila? This one here's the real thing." the Sniper told her. Alex nodded, still half-hoping she wouldn't mess up.

_"Five, four, three, two, one!"_

The team hurried through the doors, everyone trying to get to a different place. The Sniper went out the second door to the usual area, and the Scout followed. From there, he jumped across onto the roof of the bridge and to the other side, taking out the Red Sniper with his bat. He'd meet up with Alex once he took the intelligence.

The Engineer ran into the courtyard. Since the other team was almost required to get through there to take the intelligence, it was a good place to put a sentry. Alex also ran through the courtyard and down into the main hallway. She took out her knife, in case a certain member of the Red team managed to run through the chaos outside.

Then, she saw him. The Red Scout ran outside of the base, not even trying to get across the top. The Sniper had managed to kill him during his earlier attempt. Alex hid by the doorway, heart beating rapidly. She'd planned for this to happen, but didn't quite feel ready to go through with it. However, it did work. Right as the Scout stepped into the doorway, Alex turned in his direction. She stabbed him in the chest, easily earning a kill.

She quickly and quietly made her way through the bullets, flames and explosions between the two bases. It took a bit of time, but it ended up just fine. Moments later, the Blu Scout ran past, not even noticing Alex.

"Scout!" she shouted as he came by. "What're you doing back here?" He stopped to let her catch up.

"There's a sentry up ahead."

"In the courtyard?" she guessed.

"Yeah," he responded, "and the Spy ain't helping. The Red Engineer always catches him."

"Great…"

They soon arrived by the courtyard. The sentry was built along the narrow pathway at the top of the stairs. It was impossible for them to get to.

The problem, however, didn't last long. The Soldier walked right past the two.

"Hey, you two," he shouted, "less talk, more fight!" The Soldier stepped into the courtyard and soon noticed the obstacle keeping them back. It didn't pose as a problem, though. He stood almost directly under the gun and shot rockets at the floor. It was a strategy that was exceedingly annoying to Engineers, but very helpful when sentries kept people away from where they needed to be. Once the gun was down, Alex ran out into the courtyard, not wasting a second. She rushed up the far stairway, shooting at the Red Engineer. Eventually, she managed to get close enough to stab him, although there was no need. The Scout was able to run in front of him and get a kill with his scattergun.

"Come on!" the Scout shouted to Alex as he started running for the intelligence. She followed, but not without thanking the Soldier. He, however, didn't exactly seem to care. That wasn't unexpected, though—she knew she'd never get along with him, and didn't really mind. He didn't quite look like the friendliest person around.

_"We have taken the enemy intelligence!"_ the announcer exclaimed, alerting… well, everyone. _"The enemy has taken our intelligence!"_ The two announcements came one after the other.

"Hurry!" Alex yelled.

"Well, come on then!" the Scout urged, reaching for her hand.

"This one's all you," she replied. "I'll try and keep them from getting a capture."

"Alone? Are you sure?" Alex nodded, motioning toward the doorway. The Scout reluctantly dashed away, leaving the Decoy to her fate.

Alex decided to stay in the Intel room, believing that it would be the best way to catch the enemy. It went well at first, since no one else actually entered the room for a while. About thirty seconds before the Red Scout arrived with the intelligence, the Red Pyro came into the Intel room. As usual, Alex didn't really have much to defend herself with. She managed to avoid most of the flames, getting a good shot at the enemy every now and then. However, she eventually got cornered; that was how her plan failed. Almost that whole time, Alex hadn't been alone in the Red Base. The Red Spy had been just around the corner, waiting to strike. At first, she had absolutely no clue what it was that killed her. The Pyro was almost at the other side of the room. It couldn't have been the Pyro, because she'd stopped burning before she died.

Soon, she saw that the Spy had backstabbed her. Sure, she was kind of annoyed by it, but it could've been worse. It's not like it was a one on one fight, either. Besides, it would've happened sooner or later, and it wasn't so bad if the enemy got one capture, right?

_"Success! We have secured the enemy intelligence!" _That was soon followed by, _"You've failed! The enemy has captured our intelligence!"_

It was then that she asked herself, "Is everything with this plan really working out so well?" Alex wasn't exactly sure. She couldn't defend herself against two people at once, and she'd only been with the Scout for the practice round. It didn't really seem all that useful, now that she thought about it. She decided to try hanging around someone else. Who was that someone? The Pyro.

From the first minute or so, that seemed to work a bit better. To put it simply, all she had to do was disguise herself and lure the enemies into the base. Once they came around the corner, they'd be ignited. It was that easy—well, until the Blu Scout came by, that is.

"Hey, I was wondering where you were," the Scout smiled. He was carrying the intelligence, bringing it into the base. "Come on, let's go."

"Actually, I think I'm going to stick with the Pyro for now, if you don't mind," she told him. That's when he got a little upset.

"You know, I'd kind of prefer that you stick with me. It just… works better," he replied.

"Well, this seems to work better for me."

"What do you mean by that?" he snapped.

"God, what's your problem?"

"Look," he sighed, "you know what, I do mind. I actually welcomed you here, unlike everyone else. I think it works better when we're working together because… you know, I just know you better. Really, wouldn't you be more comfortable around me than another team member who doesn't even know you?"

"Just go capture the intelligence," she responded, realizing that he was unhappy. "And—"

"Excuse me?" he interrupted, insulted.

"You didn't let me finish," she smiled a bit. "You go capture the intelligence, since you already have it, and come back down here afterwards. We'll get the final capture together." The Scout agreed to the idea and rushed back to the Intel room.

_"The enemy has taken our intelligence! We have captured the enemy intelligence!"_ That time, there was almost no pause between the two. _"The enemy has dropped our intelligence."_

"Let's go," the Scout grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her away, barely letting her remove the disguise. "We've got the rest of the team counting on us, don't we?"

"I guess we do," Alex laughed. The two ran to the front of the base, where they soon realized they couldn't go that way.

"Think we can make it through that?" the Scout asked, referring to the bridge and the area around it, which was full of bullets, explosions, mercenaries and dead bodies.

"Hell no," she frowned. She didn't think it would be possible for anyone to make it through the battlefield out there. Snipers and Soldiers from both teams, Red's Pyro and Heavy and Blu's Demoman—plus Blu's Spy…and possibly Red's. Just imagine all of them shooting everything they've got, almost as if they were trying to cause as much havoc as possible.

"Guess we have to go through the pipes," he suggested, motioning back down the other hallway. "Let's go."

Both of them hurried down the stairs and slowed down just as their feet began to splash in the water. "Wait a minute," Alex whispered, "do you hear that?"

They stayed silent for a moment. "Now I do," the Scout replied. "What should we do? Either we go through there or go out on the bridge."

"Let's just keep going and see if we can find something to do about it."

Both of them continued forward silently. When Alex asked about a noise, she meant a sentry gun. She could hear a faint beeping noise, and there were three in a row. They wouldn't be able to make it past without some help. After getting to the edge of the small room, the two soon realized that there wasn't actually anything to worry about. It was a Blu sentry, which was being tended by the Engineer.

"What are you two sneaking around for? There's nothing to worry about down here."

_"The enemy has taken our intelligence!"_

"At the moment, anyway," Alex added. She and the Scout started to go out toward the enemy base when something started feeling odd. "Wait a minute," Alex gasped, "what was that?"

"What was what?" the Scout wondered.

"I think I just ran into something."

"It's that damn Spy again," the Engineer sighed. "He's been coming down here since the first time my gun took him out. If he kills any of us, the sentry will take him out."

"What are you talking about?" said a voice that had an obvious French accent. As the figure uncloaked, the shape of the Blu Spy came into view.

"Give it up. We all know you're the Red Spy," the Scout sneered. "If you weren't, we could've still seen you a bit while you were cloaked." Moments later, the Spy in question put a sapper on the gun. The Engineer managed to get it off before the sentry was destroyed, and hit the Spy with his wrench. He was quickly taken out by the sentry.

"This is just going to keep happening and happening," the Engineer shook his head.

Alex and the Scout just kept going. Once they were in the enemy base, they realized that they probably wouldn't find anyone from the other team. Most everyone was occupied with the fight outside. Everyone but the Red Scout, that is.

"_The enemy has captured our intelligence!"_

"Wonderful," Alex commented sarcastically. "Now the scores are even. We better hurry."

"Then let's go," he replied, grabbing her hand without and pulling her through the base. Once they got to the intelligence room, they learned that getting back would be hard. They met the Blu Spy in the basement, sneaking around for no apparent reason.

"There's a sentry under the bridge," he said, not even wasting any time. "Make sure you go across or above the bridge, not below."

"Alright. Is the fight done with out there?" Alex questioned as the Scout continued forward.

"Mostly. There are a few others left fighting, but it's not as bad as before."

"Okay," she replied.

"_We have taken the enemy intelligence!"_

"Come on, Alex! Last capture!" the Scout shouted as he ran by, not even waiting for her to catch up. Once they got out of the basement, they hurried through the courtyard. The Scout started going toward the sewers, but Alex stopped him.

"Hey, there's a sentry under the bridge. We have to go this way," she said, pointing to the front of the base. Her companion turned back toward her and returned to her side.

"_The enemy has taken our intelligence!"_

"Are you sure it's safe now?" She nodded. They headed to the doorways of the Red base, not as worried as before. Well, until the Decoy realized that they were walking into a trap.

"Scout, wait! Don't go any further!" she yelled.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not stopping soon enough. The outside of the doorway had been lined with sticky bombs.

"_We have dropped the enemy intelligence!" _Alex quickly went out the other doorway, avoiding the intelligence and, hopefully, the Demoman that set the trap.

"You aren't going anywhere," the Demoman shouted. He was just outside the far doorway. Alex backed away a bit, nearly hitting the fence running along the sides of each base. The Demoman started forward, but he didn't get far. The Blu Sniper hadn't seen him initially. He got a quick and easy headshot once he noticed the enemy.

"Don't just stand there, sheila," he shouted across to her, "get the briefcase!"

Alex didn't hesitate once he told her that. She rushed over to the intelligence and picked it up as fast as she could. It was heavier than she expected, but nothing that would make it hard to run. She bolted across the bridge and into the base, and not once did she consider stopping. If she did wait, it gave the other team that much more of a chance to win.

When she arrived in the basement, the Scout caught up with her. "Hey, you picked up the briefcase?"

"What else was there to do? No one else was there to take it." she replied.

"Just keep going! They have our intelligence, too. They're probably not too far from their basement, either."

"_Victory!"_ the announcer said. Alex got the final capture, which won the game for Blu Team.

"Nice one!" the Scout smiled, pulling her into a hug. Alex's cheeks started turning pink, and so did the Scout's once he realized what he was doing. "Well," he stuttered, "we—we should really… meet with the others…"

"Yeah," she replied, still surprised.

When they did meet with the others, they weren't quite as happy for Alex as the Scout was. At first, they were congratulating the Scout as he entered. When he informed them that the Decoy had made the final capture, the cheering stopped. No one said a thing. They just started going back to whatever they were doing before the round had started. The Soldier seemed the least satisfied, glaring at Alex as he went inside.

"So you did capture the intelligence. It took a second for you to pick it up, but it seems like that wasn't really an issue," the Sniper commented.

"What's with them? I captured the intelligence and they're acting like I made the team lose."

"That's how they are, sheila. They're not going to get used to this very quickly, so you're going to have to get used to how all of them behave."

"I know," Alex smiled, watching the Scout follow the others inside, "but I don't think they'll all be a challenge to get used to."


End file.
